Tesco Mobile has announced a welcome boost for its pay as you go (PAYG) customers who may be looking for a little extra speed this summer.
The operator has revealed it will be providing superfast 4G network access to its PAYG customers without any extra cost, with users being migrated across over the next few days.
New customers will also be able to sign up for 4G tariffs, which range from 500MB to 8GB a month, at the same prices Tesco Mobile had offered for 3G.
Those users who don’t want to be tied down to a specific monthly allowance each month can also simply choose to use data as they please at a cost of ten pence per megabyte.
Tesco Mobile, which has 4 million customers, is the UK’s largest mobile virtual network operator, using O2’s network, which currently offers 99% coverage across the country.
The operator had already been offering 4G speeds to its monthly contracted customers for no extra cost, meaning that all its customers now have access to faster download speeds.
"The world we live in is becoming ever more fast-paced and data hungry," Simon Groves, Tesco Mobile’s chief marketing officer said.
"No one likes being made to wait around and we see no reason why our pay as you go customers shouldn’t have access to the same speeds as pay monthly ones; which is why we now offer 4G to all our customers at prices that are accessible to everyone."
Robb Kerr, mobile phones expert at consumer champion USwitch.com, said Tesco is showing the way forward for other operators, with its move hopefully spurring its competitors into action.
"Tesco’s new free 4G pay as you go offering now gives it the edge on the competition of the other MVNOs, Giffgaff and Virgin Mobile. Crucially for mobile users, it makes 4G well and truly affordable, even for those not on contracts.
"No premium for 4G has to be the way forward, even more so as we slowly approach the two-year anniversary of its arrival in the UK. Bigger inroads of affordability need to be made."
